Tag: Raising kids

Week 52…because next week is already 2017…say that again?! It really is already 2017 next Sunday. Ok.

Anyway…

Work

I only had to report for work on Tuesday and Friday, and was allowed to work from home. Thanks, boss. The rest of the days, I was on offset.

Monday, December 19

Last Monday, I went to Baclaran to buy some stuff. I went there straight, after attending the dawn mass. There were already a lot of people but some shops are still closed while most open shops were still unloading their items for sale. I went to Jollibee then for breakfast first. But when I was there, I saw many people already with big plastic bags filled with goods. How did they do that? Maybe, they already know where to get their stuff. As for me, I still need to canvas.

There was one new mall that sells everything wholesale. Good for reselling. It’s mostly infants’ and children’s clothes. There were also some stalls in the other malls selling factory overruns.

I was able to buy some of the items I was looking for. Not much but a good start.

From Baclaran, I went to Landmark Makati to buy some small containers as I don’t want to bring all the big bottles of my kikay kit all the way to Baguio but I don’t want to leave them either hehehe.

Thursday, December 22

On Thursday AM, I am already on my way to Baguio. I went straight to my brother’s place to drop off the stuff I bought in Baclaran.

I went to SM Baguio after for a much needed pedicure (was not able to do this in Manila anymore hehehe). I went to Baguio Cathedral after for the evening mass.

I went to Tea House in Session for dinner. No, not Vizco’s this time. It was because my friend recommended their ube delight. And true enough, it was yummy and ok for repeat orders.

Friday, December 23

Started work in the morning and went out in the afternoon. My niece joined me this time. First stop was the bank. Good thing they still have regular office hours last Friday. From the bank, we went straight to Baguio Cathedral for the evening mass, and also the last mass for the simbang gabi.

We first went to Victory to reserve our tickets. There was a line. And my niece was hungry hehehehe. She had to wait for a while, and then walk back to SM for dinner. When asked what she liked, she said burger and fries and drinks and chicken.

We were supposed to go home after dinner but the taxi line was long so we roamed around for a while. After an hour, when we checked the line again, it was still long. This time, she asked me that we go back to the department store. Something fishy. She wants something hahaha! I asked her straight what she needed. Her straight answer? Shoes. Lagot. Hahaha! I brought her to the less expensive ones. She wants some doll shoes but we can’t find one in her size and with a good design. But then I saw a pair of rubber shoes and when I showed it to her, she liked it. Very good.

Cabs were already scarce by the time we went in line so we had to wait a long time. At one point, my niece even suggested that we walk home. Ay. We are 9 KMs away from the city. Cannot be, and it was already close to midnight. We were able to get a ride and reached home around 12:30 AM already. My niece can’t still believe that it will be morning soon when she asked the time hehehe. I think it was her first time to stay out that late hehehehehe. BI tita here 😛 😛 😛 .

Saturday, December 24

I stayed home this day. I wanted to attend the evening mass but transportation is a challenge in our place.

I taught my nieces about online banking.

I also bought a selfie stick which I practiced using for a while and then it went to my niece’s possession for the rest of the day.

At 5 PM, I suddenly decided to host dinner for us siblings. Nothing fancy. Just chicken adobo and salad. And it’s because on the 25th, we all have different plans hehehe.

Sunday, December 25

I was able to attend the last mass in the morning in our parish. The BF was invited to a Christmas lunch by one of the parishioners, and he tagged me along. This parishioner happens to be my uncle’s former colleague. They are now both retired. Small world.

It’s a regular working day for the BF (which I don’t get really since it’s Christmas…) so we stayed in his office and I waited for him until he was done, only to part ways again hehehehe.

Change in plans

We are supposed to be on our way to Manila now. However, our mother’s uncle passed away last December 23 and us kids need to take over our mother’s clan responsibilities so we cancelled our Manila trip we are going to Bugias, Benguet instead tomorrow. I’m excited for this detour but I’m dreading the very cold weather. It’s even colder there than here in Baguio.

We will resume our Manila trip on the 27th. We’ll play it by ear as to what time will that be. It depends on what time we’ll be arriving in Baguio from Buguias. If it’s too late, my cousin will just bring the kids to the terminal and we’ll go straight to Manila. Wala nang uwi-uwi for the adults who are coming with us hehe.

I was on offset on November 28-29 so I was still in Baguio those days.

On Monday, after my nieces’ classes, they came to my home so I took that opportunity for us to discuss the 3 basic laws of money from the book The Retelling of the Richest Man in Babylon by Rose Fres-Fausto (1. Pay yourself first.; 2. Get only into business you understand. Seek advice only from competent people.; 3. Make your gold work for you. Make an army of golden slaves before you buy luxury.). I tried to explain it to them in the simplest way I can. I’m not sure if they were able to grasp it all but hopefully, even just a few things. We’ll have another session maybe during December break to review.

I traveled back to Manila on Tuesday night, after spending a few hours with the BF.

Wednesday was a holiday so still no work, yey! I needed to buy some stuff so I forced myself to go to the mall early evening. The things I needed were not in Megamall though so I went to Trinoma to complete my errand hehe. Yehey to extended mall hours! Hehehe.

Weekend

Saturday was for domestic chores.

My friend and I met on Sunday to have lunch at Kettle! Finally, we were able to have seats this time! E kasi naman 11AM pa lang nandon na kami hehehe. The food was great. We loved the chicken and the potato strips and especially the dip. However, it would have been best if we ordered some soup to to balance out all the fried food we had hehe.

Sarap! Di kami gutom :p

We went to Greenhills after because according to my friend, she saw a dupe of the Missha hand cream. Years ago, she gifted me with a Missha hand cream and I loved it that I have been looking for it all over the place to no avail. Then she said she saw a Korean shop in Greenhills that sells hand creams with almost similar formulation of the Missha hand cream. Well, it is, but the Missha is still better hehe.

Heard mass in Greenhills too, then headed home after to rest some more.

Have a great week ahead. Or a great weekend bilang Friday na uli bukas! Hahaha!

I went home to Baguio for some errands and a family affair. I arrived Saturday noon and diretso na sa errands. Ang ginaw-ginaw na dito! Nanunuot sa buto. Tapos maulan pa nung Saturday!

Remember my niece who likes SM? We made the first step last Saturday. I opened a regular savings account for her and for her sister. While I have the option to open a Junior saver’s account for the kid, I opted for a regular savings account kasi pag narealize nyang mas maliit yung amount sa kanya, maraming tanong uli yun hahaha. So pareho na lang agad-agad. I diverted some of my investment funds just so we could open their accounts. I told them that I just lent them what they used so that they could start saving in the bank directly.

They will claim their ATMs next Saturday. Sana matandaan nila lahat ng binilin ko sa kanila about PIN and keeping their ATMs in a safe place.

I also told them that I will give 50% of whatever they save out of their allowance from today until December 31. They must have deposit slips as proof. I’ll add more savings opportunities for them next year. Let’s see how this deal will work first.

I told her to write her complete name in cursive. Kaso nawalan ng space ang family name. So yan na ang first official signature nya hahaha! I told her we’ll just update when she’s older.

I am back to 2 credit cards (from 3). Standard Chartered bank transferred some of its services (or maybe all PH services) to East West bank starting November 26, 2016. Since I recently got approved with a Citi Rewards card, I did not renew with East West bank anymore. No more confusing decisions as to which card to use. More peace of mind.

Note: broken lines indicate that conversations happened at different times but still on the same topic. I can’t just remember the exact dates as it has been a recurring topic several times a day for the days I was in Baguio.

I got my 7 year old niece (turned 7 last Nov. 4) interested in investing. This was unexpected but it got me excited!

It all started with this conversation last October 31:

Me: I’ll treat you somewhere as a belated (for the young ladies who turned 13 last September) and advance (for the kid) birthday gift. Where would you like to go?

Niece: SM!

Me: Oh, so you like SM?

Niece: Yes!

Me: Did you know that you can become a part owner of SM if you lend them some money? (I was thinking along the lines of buying a stock of SM).

Niece: Really, tita?

Me: Yes. If you have at least Php 8,000.00, we can buy SM shares. Would you like that?

Niece: Yes!

Me: So, start saving now and let me know when you already have it.

Niece: Ok.

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Niece: So, tita if I have Php 8k, I can become SM’s part owner?

Me: Yes.

Niece: Can I use play money?

Me: Hahaha! But no, you can’t. It has to be real money. So, save save save!

Niece: Ok.

Me: If you want, you can invest in its condominiums. That will just be around Php 4,000.00 (I was thinking of SMPH). It’s cheaper than SM.

I saw an article that Henry Sy has joined the team that will be building the airport at Sangley Point.

Me: Look! SM will be part of the group that will build an airport. So if you buy some SM shares, maybe your money will also be used for that airport.

Niece: Wow, airport! So if I have Php 8K, it will be an airport, and if I have Php 4K, it will be on condominiums?

Me: Yes. (I just used airports, malls and condominiums to make it simpler for the child) So, which one do you like?

Niece: Airport!

Me: Ok, then start saving for Php 8K.

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My niece brought out her piggy bank, a recycled J&J lotion container that was one-third full, and showed it to me.

Niece: Tita, here’s my savings.

Me: It’s not yet enough but it’s a start. Make sure you try to save more so that you can become an owner faster.

Niece: Ok, tita. What happens to my money when I give it to SM? (smart question!)

Me: Your money will also grow when SM gains more profit. But there will be days when your money will also lose its value. But as long as you keep it with them until you grow up and become an adult, your money should have grown by then. So, once you lend it to them, it is best that it stays with them for the longest period possible. Do not withdraw right away.

Niece: Ah, ok.

Me: So, you want an airport?

Niece: Yes! Php 8K.

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Niece: Tita, if Php 8K, airport and if Php 4K, condominiums?

Me: Yes. You like airport, right?

Niece: Yes, so Php 8K.

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Before I left for Manila, I gave my nieces Php 10.00 (kuripot tita here 😛 ) each for their school allowance.

Me: O, don’t forget to save some for your airport ha.

Niece: Yes, tita. Php 8K.

End of conversation. But I’m sure this will resurface when I go home because….

Ha! I’ll include you in my project, kiddo! Let’s work on that investment of yours.

I already asked my sister (their mother) to check out BDO’s requirements in opening an account for my nieces and prepare these so that we’ll open their accounts on November 27. This way, all investments will be under my nieces’ names! I don’t want to mix it with mine. And I think they would be more inspired if they see their own names in their investments. And I’m thinking of UITFs now instead of direct stock investing since I’m not well-versed on stocks myself. Yun lang, di ko pa nasabi sa niece ko na Php10K na pala ang kailangan nya hehehehe. I’ll let her know and for sure she’ll still be excited if I show her the other companies where her money can be potentially invested in if she gets UITFs. Jollibee is one as of BDO’s September 2016 report but I am not really sure if maka-Jollibee yung bata hahaha!

I checked BDO’s savings options and there’s one for Junior savers (7-12 years old) where initial deposit is just Php 100.00. Sakto, she just turned 7 last November 4 hehehe.

It’s more expensive for the teenager niece because she has to now own a regular savings account and an ATM account requires Php 2K. Pero, sige na, pauutangin kita 😛 😀 . Sana may 13th month na kami by then.

I am also planning to require them to do little chores or reward them for maybe perfect scores in school? I don’t know anything about rewards system for kids but it will be an interesting research. I also plan to give the same amount every time they make a deposit. For example if they are depositing Php 20, I’ll give them Php 20 to add to their savings. With online banking, this can easily be done! Di naman siguro ako mamumulubi nito since maliit lang naman baon nila! Hahaha. But I also don’t want to underestimate them. Or I’ll just declare na I’ll give them half of what they save para safer for my wallet 😛 . If they are in school for 22 days and their daily allowance is Php 5, then that is Php 110/month IF they decide to save everything.

Lastly, I need to teach them that life isn’t just about having money. It’s more than that. Baka naman kasi maging obsessed sila at sa pera lang lagi naka-focus.

On another note, it was their mother that I wanted to teach about money management years ago. I even asked her to start listing down their expenses as a start. But that did not work out and she seemed not interested. So, kung ayaw ng magulang at mukhang interested ang anak, I’ll just focus on her kid! Hehehe. Tapos maiinggit na lang syang may investment ang mga anak nya, tapos sya wala hahaha.

Hi! I’m Joyce. Bungi man ako ngayon at mukhang loka-loka dito, magiging investor din ako! Hehehe! I’ll tell ate (who is at my back in this picture) to do the same – I mean, to invest too, not to be bungi and loka-loka hahaha!